Nakitakunaruno, Dakishimetainoni
by Keikou Tenshin
Summary: Being in Asgard for so long was torture. Watching everyone else skitter about in Midgard without a care... it made her sick. Especially Loki, that rat. Luckily, Skadi had finally been dispatched to put him in his place. She looked forward to it.
1. The Mission

**Nakitakunaruno, Dakishimetainoni**

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Do not fail me as the others have."

"Never, O Allfather. I will not disappoint you."

* * *

People were staring, but she didn't care. Everyone who passed her on the street were wondering what on Earth this little girl was doing walking down the street in such strange clothes, with such strange dolls in her hands. To be perfectly honest, she actually looked as if she were from another world.

A young girl no older than the delicate age of seven, she strode briskly and precisely while weaving her way in and out of the crowded streets of Japan aided by no parent guardian. A fragile frown was plastered across her face, giving the impression that she may have been irritated with everything she saw on the roadside.

And to be quite honest, she was.

But she had no time to dwell on her annoyance, as she was on a very important mission. She must remember the exact details of her duty, for if she failed, she would stare in the face a pain worse than death. Large, deep red eyes searched her surroundings for the sign she was looking for; but instead, she found a park, and made a short decision to walk through it in order to escape the awful hustle and bustle of these Japanese streets.

It was quiet and peaceful in the park, save for the chatter of a few small girls playing with dolls near the pathway.

"D'you wanna play with us?" one of the girls with a cerulean blue ribbon in her hair asked the strange child walking down the path. "Look—We got a geisha Barbie!" She seemed genuinely excited about the plastic toy as she held it up for the red-eyed girl to examine. "What's your name?" her chattering persisted. Obviously, her parents had never taught her to stop at only one question.

After being taken aback for a moment or two, the strange girl smiled a sweet, soft smile. "My name is Skadi. I'm sorry, but I cannot stop, because I have a job I need to finish."

"Hey, do you like kitties?"

"Um… What?"

"'Cause I do. I like 'em a lot. There's one over there," she pointed to the general direction of a rosebush with a paper bag underneath it, "but it doesn't wanna play, either." The girl shrugged. "Maybe you guys can go an' do your job, then come back here to play again!"

The small, red-eyed girl named Skadi turned to look at the paper bag, which shifted slightly, then was still again. "Maybe we could," she stated simply, beginning to head over to see it. To tell the truth, she had no intention of returning to 'play', but the small girl would forget about her in five minutes and go back to prattling on to her friends.

Slowly, Skadi reached inside the bag, but withdrew immediately. It had bitten her, surprisingly roughly for a kitten, and she was bleeding. "Goodness," she said with a tone as if she were running out of patience, ignoring the stinging sensation on her palm. "Hush now, I won't hurt you and you know it."

For the second time her hands reached inside the bag, and were marginally more successful in retrieving the small kitten. Skadi looked it over scrutinizingly.

"My my, you _are_ a special kitten, aren't you?" she murmured to the orphan, who meowed seemingly in response. Her fingers brushed through the fine gray-blue fur of the creature, and it arched its back happily. "Now why in the nine worlds would someone abandon an adorable, sweet little thing like you?" she asked as the kitten began to purr. "Kogata is your name from now on."

* * *

Skadi was on the move again, back in the bustling streets which she disliked so much. Humans were so rude these days! Didn't they know that one is supposed to hold the door open for a lady when she enters a building?

Nonetheless, she continued on her way, her mind set once more on her mission. The small gray kitten's soft white booted paws pattered on the ground after her, following the girl wherever she went. Now she seemed like even more of an oddity…

There! There it was!

_Finally_, Skadi thought with disdain. _One would think that they'd be easier to find… _

In all reality, she had actually passed by quite a few of the signs with small fish painted on them, but was too busy fretting over the people surrounding her and how awful the pollution was that she had completely ignored them.

The autumn sun was beginning to set in the sky, and Skadi knew that she would have to hurry before the streetlights came on and all sorts of hooligans roamed the streets. So she scooped Kogata up in her arms and walked across the street through the backed-up, very _non_-mobile automobiles stuck in traffic. She had to remember her mission, it was… Two dozen and half and half, that's right, but… but…

The girl stood stock-still in front of the door to the small shop, trying desperately to remember what she had kept in her mind the entire day. What happened to her?! It was so vitally important to know this! How in all the nine worlds could she have possibly forgotten as cleanly as she had?! She entered the store, hoping something would trigger her memory, a picture, or a word…

And, of course, as her Plan Bs usually went, it worked perfectly.

She addressed the man at the counter. "Sir! I would like two dozen of these," she pointed inside the glass case, "One dozen in vanilla custard, and the others red bean flavored."

"Coming right up, little lady!"

Skadi didn't like being addressed as such, but it would have to do. She hadn't time to argue, as the sun was already lower in the sky than it had been a moment ago. Ten minutes passed as she loitered about the shop, glancing outside every now and then only to see the sun lurk closer and closer to the horizon.

"Hurry up, man! I don't have all night! Can't you see that the sun is about to set?!" she demanded impatiently at the counter, her head barely reaching above the edge of it.

"Yeah, yeah, kid, we've all got places to be, and we had to make a fresh batch of taiyaki." He placed the two large bags of pastries in the conventional plastic containers, then in bags, and handed them to her. "That'll be 1700 yen."

The girl gave him a blank stare. "Yen… currency. Oh. Of course." She paused for a moment, letting Kogata climb into one of the bags to inspect the strange smell emitting from them. "Well sir, just let me get my mother, she's waiting outside with the money…"

And she very stealthily slipped out of the unfortunate taiyaki shop that had just lost 1700 yen, breaking into a run for it.

* * *

Kogata wasn't happy at all about being tumbled in such a manner, and made sure to let Skadi know that in full as the girl slowed to a stop in front of an apartment complex. She sat outside the building with the yowling, whining kitten and devoured two of the sweet, delicious pastries while she caught her breath. What an eventful day… and it was about to become more so. Rooting around in her bag of stolen patisseries, she realized that the man had thrown in an extra cup of red bean ice cream for free.

It almost made her feel bad.

"Well, here we go, Kogata, our mission is going to draw to a close right in this very apartment complex," she said to the cat, who gave her an oddly curious look as the girl gathered the two bags and stood up. Kogata stood as well and began to follow her inside, smelling intriguing smells but making sure not to stray too far from Skadi.

* * *

"Now Kogata, you must be as stealthy as a shadow, because I don't know if he'll appreciate your presence as much as I do." The cat gave the girl a confused stare but seemed to consent all the same to her request.

Skadi walked down the long and narrow hallway. It seemed nice, like the kind of apartment a person would live in that might have been just a bit short of being able to buy a house. The walls were wallpapered with a soft off-white with a floral design running along the floor, and the floor itself was carpeted in a mahogany color.

It was Skadi's very favorite color, and she thought she might very much like to live here.

She came to a halt in front of a single door no different from the rest in the hallway save for the number imprinted in faux gold upon it. Her pale, delicate hands set down the bags carefully and began to preen her dark red dress, ensuring that there were no crumbs on it, before beginning to comb their way through her straight, white-blonde hair. She inspected herself fully in this manner, occasionally looking through a window behind her to see her reflection, until she was as ready as she'd ever be.

She grabbed the two bags and knocked twice on the door, and for the first time, she wondered just what would happen if nobody was home. _But it's late afternoon; of course someone will be here_, she comforted herself. The door opened, and she smiled congenially at the boy standing before her.

"Hey, Heimdall! Look, I brought taiyaki!"

"…And who are you?"


	2. Getting ReAcquainted

I am sincerely sorry to those of you who wait for these chapters to come out. I'm sorry that I have such a busy life and that I'm not able to devote as much time as I should to my stories (and that wasn't even sarcastic). Honestly, if I could, I'd just take time to write this every day… But seeing as how I have school… Forgive me! Dx

* * *

Nakitakunaruno, Dakishimetainoni

Chapter 2

"Oh Heimdall, don't be silly! Of course you remember me," Skadi smiled, brushing gently past him and setting her things down on a nearby end table. She turned to face him once more, and from the blank but somewhat displeased tone in his burgundy eye, she concluded that he in fact did not remember her at all.

"…You don't? Well, I guess I'm not surprised. The last time we saw each other was in Aegir's Hall, after all." She shrugged. "It's me, Skadi!"

"…Oh."

There was a slight pause as Skadi, knowing nothing else to say at the moment, glanced around the room, taking in her surroundings carefully. She and Heimdall remained in a discomforting silence for a few moments whilst the room was being inspected.

"Yes, this place will do nicely."

"Nicely for what?"

"My home, of course."

"_Home?_" Heimdall inquired incredulously.

"Yes."

"And who gave you permission to live _here_?" He was appalled at the lack of reason from his old acquaintance.

"Our Lord Odin," Skadi murmured, closing her eyes in a solemn manner for a few moments. Heimdall grew quiet and there was another reticence, this much more tense than the last, for it was fueled by wordlessness.

"I… don't have any bags to bring inside, so we won't have to worry about that. Where's Freyr?"

"Out."

Skadi gave her uncooperative company a 'well, no shit' look.

"I gathered as much. Are you in a bad mood or something? I seem to remember you being slightly less stubborn."

Heimdall merely frowned and turned his head in a different direction.

"What, your plans failed? Again? Freyr picked up the wrong kind of orange juice? He bought too much orange juice? Not enough money to pay the rent? Oh wait, I know. Loki was picking on you again, wasn't he?" Skadi (and just about anyone else) could tell that he was becoming rapidly more irritated with every question. "Well, don't worry, Heim. I'll be here to protect you from—"

"Would you stop being so childish?!" Heimdall's temper reached the breaking point. "I'm annoyed because you have to stay here and the last thing we need is another person to pay for!"

Silence.

"Oh Heimdall, you're so cold! And even after I risked my life to bring you all this delicious food!"

"I hardly believe you risked your life."

"I did! I had to run all the way across town! Isn't that right, Kogata?" Skadi asked, casting her eyes upon the kitten at her feet. She clearly hoped to be vindicated by the small animal.

"Miaou," it whined, the cat's equivalent of "Feed me, damnit!".

Heimdall looked skeptically at the kitten. "You know, this apartment complex doesn't allow pets."

"Well, what about you, Mr. I-own-a-bird-of-prey-without-a-license-and-therefore-illegally?"

"…Well met."

"Thank you." Skadi smiled.

* * *

I know this was hella short, but I like it as it is, and plus I feel like I've got to put SOMETHING up on FF so I'm not slacking off too much… I'll try to have the next chapter up much, much sooner. 


	3. Dilemma

I have no excuses. I'm just a lazy bum who's lost her inspiration but hopes to gain it back, someday. D;

But OH MY GODS, I do have the next chapter out. Legasp! And it's not super-short. So please be at least a little appeased. ;A;

* * *

**Nakitakunaruno, Dakishimetainoni**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"So where am I going to sleep?" An inquisitive Skadi asked, turning her scarlet eyes onto her companion.

"Right there."

"Heimdall, you of all people should know that no lady can sleep on a couch."

"Well, that's all we have."

"You don't have ANY beds?"

"I mean, that's all we have aside from the beds Freyr and I use."

"You don't feel gallant enough to offer to trade your bed for my couch?"

"No."

A disconcerted Skadi frowned at the apathetic Heimdall.

"That's no good, Heimdall. How are you ever going to get a wife at this rate?"

"And _that's_ none of your business!" a blush-stricken Heimdall fumed, beginning to storm off. "You can make your own damn bed, the blankets are in the closet!" He slammed the door to his room rather roughly and Skadi winced. The girl turned to Kogata with a perplexed look on her face.

"Did I say something?"

The cat was not paying attention, instead investigating what seemed to be the scent of a strange animal that had previously perched on the very couch she was inhabiting. Her small whiskers twitched minutely, and she was obviously quite engrossed in her exploration. Skadi decided that it was best to leave her to it, as she'd had unpleasant dealings before with intensely preoccupied cats. They tended to kind of overreact when touched.

And so the child embarked on her second grand journey of the day: to find mentioned closet and prepare her bed (however unfitting it may have been for a goddess like her to sleep on a couch). In other words, as far as she could see, Heimdall had given her all manner of permission to snoop around the apartment while 'looking for the closet'. And a wonderful excuse it was.

"I should start this very second," Skadi remarked to herself with an impish smirk, ambling in the general direction of the kitchen.

It was actually quite clean, which she surmised was Freyr's doing. He was fairly domestic and could be something of a pushover at times, so it wasn't shocking. There were a few dishes in the sink, but other than that, everything was nice and organized and generally well-to-do, most appliances and accessories keeping in the same general color scheme of the same soft eggshell that was on the walls. Bo-ring. At least the tile was a nice deep red.

"Oh my. What's this?" she murmured to herself, reaching into the back of the back of the refrigerator. Half of her body was submerged in the frigid device, but she'd seen something intriguing indeed, and she wasn't leaving that kitchen appliance until she'd retrieved it.

"Heimdall's property. Do not eat," she muttered, reading what was written in bold Sharpie on the outside of the box. She nudged the refrigerator shut with her foot, moving to the counter to further inspect what seemed to be a harmless box of chocolate-covered cherries. Interesting.

One of three things could happen, she deduced: she could open the box and eat the cherries and suffer no repercussions other than a pissed-off Heimdall; she could open the box and suffer some terrible hex that was originally intended for Loki; or she could open the box, eat the cherries, and _then _suffer some terrible hex that was originally intended for Loki. After debating for a few minutes, she decided to take her chances and at least open the box.

Carefully prying open the lid, she was as cautious as if she were opening Pandora's box for just a peek. She pulled the top of the box off and suddenly--

…nothing at all happened.

Skadi pouted, the way she normally did when she was thinking. So she had two options left. And either way she had to eat one or more of the cherries. It was destiny. How could she come this far and _not _eat one? Unthinkable.

Her hand cautiously hovered over the box. Those chocolate-covered treats looked just so perfect. All twelve of them were there, completely intact, in their glorious assortment of white, milk, and dark chocolate. Now the only decision was… which to eat. Skadi's dark red eyes worshipped the candies and gave thanks for their perfection before doing exactly what she knew would irritate Heimdall the most: plucking a majestic white chocolate one right out of the center.

"What are you doing?"

Skadi jumped at least a full foot in the air and played a small game of juggle-the-candy before spinning around to face her verbal assailant, being sure to stand directly in front of the cherries in such a way to block them completely from view.

"I was definitely-- I definitely was _not _eating anything with your name marked on it," the goddess of snow told an angry watchman, hiding the chocolate candy in her hands behind her back. She noticed that she was particularly bad at soothing tempers, but hoped that he would leave soon so she could get the rapidly melting chocolate out of her hands.

"You're a terrible liar," a veritably fuming Heimdall replied. "I can see the box behind you when you fidget like that."

Skadi had not been aware that she was fidgeting , but with a quick glance found that she actually was. Curses, foiled again. She really was a terrible liar. She'd run out of excuses, so banked on her original plan.

"…I was looking for the closet."

"There's no closet in a box of chocolate-covered cherries." Heimdall paused, then smirked widely. "No, never mind. Go ahead and eat one." He leaned against the counter on the other side of the kitchen, surveying Skadi intently. She hated it when he did that.

The platinum blonde girl looked quite conflicted. "Nuh-uh, you put a hex on these, didn't you?" she asked childishly, making reluctant eye contact with Heimdall. Just as she suspected, he said nothing as his eyes bored into hers. She frowned. "Or that's what you want me to think, so I won't eat any. Well, I've…" she began confidently, but trailed off. "Unless you anticipated that I would think that. It would be just like you." She pouted again, looking down in thought. Her skin could feel his eye boring into her, and it only made her more nervous, which she knew was his strategy. It was working.

"You should make a decision sometime today."

Skadi scowled at the tactical genius in front of her, unable to figure out where the winning move was in his game. On one hand she could take her chances and eat the candy in her palm. She had a fifty-fifty chance of coming out unscathed, after all. And that was just about the best odds she could hope for in a situation like this. On the other hand though, she could just play it safe and not eat any, but that would be surrendering to the enemy, and that was impermissible!

She stuffed the candy in her mouth without a second thought.

It was actually delicious, just as good if not better than she expected it to be. However, she hardly had time to enjoy it fully before the magic stuffed in it rendered her unconscious.

* * *

Heimdall shook his head. Stubborn to the very end. Now he had to deal with an unconscious goddess… She was more trouble than she was worth. He suspected she would wake up in about an hour or two; the magic he'd put in those candies was just enough to deter people from eating them (and by people he meant Freyr, who if he had half a brain would have checked thoroughly for such tricks, but obviously Skadi was not so gifted). Removing the curse was simple for any time he felt like having a chocolate-covered cherry... He just hadn't wanted one yet.

But now one was missing, and he blamed himself for not remembering just how very obstinate Skadi was. What a nuisance.

It would have been far too much work to pull her all the way into the living room, so he simply propped her up against the cabinets. Freyr would be back soon, he could deal with her.

Upon leaving he spared a glance back at her, and it occurred to him how cold the tiled floor probably was. And… her legs were bare, after all. That dress of hers only went mid-thigh.

"…Hmph!" he stormed off into his room again.


	4. Rise and Shine

Almost unheard of, ANOTHER CHAPTER directly after the last one!! Oh emm gee!!

And thanks to everyone that commented/favorited/added to their story alert. :'D I feel so loved!

* * *

Nakitakunaruno, Dakishimetainoni

Chapter Four

* * *

A pair of drowsy scarlet eyes drifted toward the clock. 7:03. Lovely. How long had she been out? An hour? No, probably more around forty-five minutes or so. She arrived at six, but did spend some time snooping around, after all. Hmm. Come to think of it, what had she found when she was doing her investigative journalism? It was something good. Oh yeah, those chocolates.

The memories came flooding back and Skadi shifted uncomfortably with the recollection. Oh yeah. Technically she'd lost. That was no good… She'd have to brush up on her strategy. In other words, she needed blackmail. Blackmail always meant instant win. Yes, yes.

With an enormous yawn she sat up straighter, stretching leisurely. She licked her dry lips and could still taste a hint of the chocolate on them. Ahh, yeah, that was _really _good. Almost worth passing out.

Skadi suddenly realized that she'd been tented with a huge blanket. Come to think of it, she had been oddly warm for being… on the floor of the kitchen.

On the floor of the kitchen?!

"That Heimdall! Has the human world robbed him of his sense of chivalry?!" Skadi griped, hoisting herself off the floor and pulling the sizeable comforter up around her shoulders. She stumbled a little, as she discovered that her legs had fallen asleep. Well, only half of one leg, but still. "That's no good…" she muttered in vague annoyance, stumbling into the living room despite her debilitation. Her keen crimson eyes spotted a note on the table that wasn't there before.

"_Skadi, went out. _Obviously. _Freyr should be there before you wake up, but in case he isn't, thought you should know_." The girl paused, looking blankly at the note in her small porcelain-doll hands. "In other words, you don't want me to worry. Aww." Skadi smiled wryly and flipped the note over, scribbling something with the pen that was left nearby.

She then made a beeline for the sofa and collapsed onto it, pulling the large, well-stuffed comforter securely around her. Kogata, who had apparently been exploring Freyr's room, strolled in and thought it appropriate to accompany the goddess. The small feline jumped onto the couch with no difficulty and curled up cozily in the niche behind the girl's partially folded knees.

* * *

_Heimdall-_

_Wasn't it sweet of you to put a blanket over me._

The purple-haired boy scowled and crushed the note in his hand, tossing it into the nearest trash can. It bounced off the rim and ended up on the floor; oh well, Freyr would pick it up later. He knew the note was Skadi's way of passive-aggressively making fun of him. She was always pulling stunts like that. His displeased burgundy eye glared over at the sleeping girl on the couch who looked quite content with herself... Nothing but trouble.

* * *

"For all your so-called kitchen expertise, you really suck at sweeping, Freyr," a frowning Skadi chastised, waving a finger at the much taller and older-looking man. The brown-haired god could only nod halfheartedly and keep shuffling the broom back and forth, looking fairly fed up with Skadi's criticism.

"You ought to sweep the kitchen and bathroom floors once each day, or did I teach you nothing? Otherwise dirt and dust accumulates before you know it! …And by the way, have a chocolate-covered cherry." Skadi pushed the sweets forward as if offering them out of the goodness of her heart, making sure that the name Sharpie-d onto the box wasn't visible.

"Hey, when does Heimdall usually wake up, anyway? It's already eight." the blond-haired girl woke up early that particular day, having gone to bed at seven and been coaxed back into consciousness by the sunlight at six-thirty the next morning.

Then, for lack of something to do, she decided to go antagonize Freyr. It had occupied her until this point.

"This slothful behavior just won't do," she muttered without waiting for a response from her kitchen compadre, thus giving herself the excuse to go annoy Heimdall again. She was big on justification for her less-than-moral intentions.

Freyr let her go, deciding that he would rather see his former stepmother in the line of fire than himself.

The goddess stealthily crept along the short hallway to Heimdall's room, preparing fully to enjoy this as much as possible. As of yet her tactic was unplanned. The time for ice had passed, as she should have gotten that half a hallway ago was she going to use it. A siren was also out of the question. The resources for that were missing in action. Anything similar? A particularly obnoxious alarm clock, perhaps? Somehow that just didn't do this mission justice. She needed something bigger, something… loud.

Wait.

"What's this?" Skadi whispered to herself, not hearing her own voice in her strain to keep quiet. She heard… music. From his room. Was he already awake?! Damn him!

Cautiously, to confirm her suspicions, she drew closer to his door. It was slightly ajar, such that she could push it open a couple of inches and not draw much, if any, attention to herself. Perfect. She did just that, and saw… no one. What the hell? She hadn't seen him yet that morning. And if he'd left, he wouldn't leave the music on. The electricity bills were already bad enough, she could see that from the mail she may or may not have peeked at. So what--

"Skadi!"

The girl jumped violently for the second time in two days, pulling the door shut on a trail of her blonde hair as she jumped abruptly back from the suspicious-looking scene. A yelp escaped her vocal cords, despite her best efforts. She opened the door again and retrieved the lock of her hair (that was still miraculously attached to her head).

"Heimdall!" she responded, mimicking his tone of voice as she rubbed the sore spot on her head. "What?! Why's everything got to be a federal case with you?" She demanded, going on the offensive. "All I was going to do was wake you up, but I see you've… already…" Again she started with a strong voice but tapered off toward the end, noticing just what exactly she'd gotten herself into. She looked away, actively avoiding any and all eye contact, suddenly finding the eggshell color on the walls to be just beautiful. And that painting was great, too. A real work of art.

"Well, move! You're in my way!" Heimdall demanded, storming past the girl. "And stay away from my room!" he ordered after slamming the door, obviously taking a similarly embarrassed manner as Skadi.

"Well fine!" said goddess yelled back, scowling. Heimdall could hear her stomp off as he opened his dresser, looking for some clothes. He rolled his eye as he pulled out a shirt, holding the towel on his waist with the other hand. If she was going to act like that every time he took a shower, he'd have to wait until she'd gone to sleep for the night before he could wash up. What was she thinking, anyway?! It wasn't like… Oh. Well, he supposed she did live here now.

* * *

"What?! Keep sweeping!" Skadi ordered in a tone that clearly implied 'moron', scowling through her scarlet-tinged face at Freyr. He resumed his task, mumbling something that Skadi didn't catch. She was much too preoccupied with the morning's antics for that. Plus, she had yet to pick up any of her own clothing or personal care products for the human world. Packing was something she'd neglected to do in her rush to Midgard, so that was her day's mission.

If she finished quickly, she concluded that she could have time to stalk Loki a bit before returning to her newest abode.


	5. A Close Encounter of the Third Kind

Nakitakunaruno, Dakishimetainoni

Chapter Five

* * *

"Remind me why I'm here again?" a skeptical Heimdall asked in his usual tone (irritated, that is). Having nothing else to turn his gaze to, he contemplated the moustache that was sloppily scribbled on the face of a pretty-looking brown-haired girl smiling out of a poster.

"Because," Skadi's voice emanated matter-of-factly from behind the whitewashed door, "I need another person's opinion while here, and that other person's opinion may as well be a man's. Plus, I asked you to. So." the girl ended her thought with a conjunction, something that Heimdall was sure violated most if not all basic rules of grammar. He crossed his arms and scowled, turning his attention from the poster to a crack in the ceiling. Watching paint dry would have been a riot compared to this. The wannabe pop music that echoed in the (almost) vacant room assailed his ears with more vigor than he'd anticipated, the repertoire of hip-hop and Hannah Montana regular torture.

"Could you go any slower?" Heimdall asked sarcastically, thinking it rather ridiculous that Skadi could possibly drag this out for so very long.

"Why yes I could Heimdall, and unless you want me to, I'd suggest not pestering me." Skadi scowled in a similar manner as Heimdall, but of course she wasn't aware of that. She spitefully pulled the sleeves of her dress on extra-slowly. If Skadi had honestly wanted someone to help her pick out clothes for her new wardrobe, she would have taken Freyr, since he was more fashion-conscious than Heimdall at the very least. But she had an ulterior motive to her actions this time. Not that that wasn't how it usually ended up.

"Okay," she spoke, studying herself in the full-length mirror before her. It looked halfway decent, but not as good as she'd hoped. She didn't like the hem of it… For reasons she herself couldn't quite place. But she'd learned long ago not to question her woman's intuition.

She swung the door open and spun around for added effect, causing the yellow sun dress to flare out around her thighs. What? Wasn't that what you were _supposed _to do when you tried on a dress?

"So?" Skadi paused but didn't wait long for a response, as she turned to face the mirror instead and speculate herself some more. "I guess I like the color, but I don't know if it looks that good on me. Maybe I have more of a spring skin tone and this is a little too bold. And there's something wrong with the hem."

"…Why does it even matter what you look like?"

"What do you mean?" Skadi asked, still looking at herself in the mirror.

"I mean, you're in a child's body, anyway. It's not like you could look--" Heimdall suddenly seemed to think the path he was walking treacherous, as he stopped himself mid-sentence, but Skadi was too quick for him to come up with an alternate statement.

"Not like I could look _what_?" She watched him icily through the reflection of the mirror.

"…Bad," he spoke hesitantly. "Kids look fine in any clothes." For a second he was under the impression that he'd saved himself, but that notion was quickly shot down.

"That wasn't what you were going to say."

"Yes, it was."

"No it wasn't."

"This is stupid--"

"Don't you move from that seat until we're done," Skadi ordered, slamming the door as she stormed back into the dressing cubicle. Heimdall was sorely tempted to leave while she was changing, but didn't. She was probably listening intently for sounds of movement.

"So Heimdall," Skadi addressed him again from behind the door. He said nothing. "I've been told that your last attempts at getting rid of Loki were utter failures."

"…"

"And I'd always regarded you so highly as a tactical mastermind. Hmm?"

"…What's your point?" Heimdall asked bitterly, his words sharp.

"Nooothing. Just clarifying."

Just when Heimdall had thought she couldn't possibly find another way to piss him off, Skadi found a way. She was good at that.

"So what's your next plan of action?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Becaauuse…" Skadi swung the door open and stepped out (obviously changing back into her old clothes was much faster than changing into a new dress, Heimdall noted with irritation), "From what I've heard, you need a little help."

"I don't need _anyone's _help, especially not _yours_," he told her caustically, scowling. She smiled, much to his chagrin.

"Aw Heimdall, it's okay. Because I'm gonna help you anyway," she replied saccharinely, patting his head. He jerked back with a glare that could have wilted daisies. She smiled with a grin that could have had the daisies digging their own graves.

* * *

"A full day!" Skadi announced, walking triumphantly from the store with more energy than Heimdall would have ever thought possible. At least she hadn't made him carry the bags.

…Yet.

"Yes, I now have a satisfactory wardrobe and all the bathroom amenities a lady could need!" Skadi swung the bags flamboyantly as the two walked along the sidewalk, causing passers-by to either cast curious glances or move quickly out of her way. Or both.

"…Hey."

"Call me by my name, Heimdall, or I shall be forced to address you differently as well."

"How are you paying for this, again?"

Skadi's enthusiasm almost stopped dead for a moment, but it geared back up again just as fast. "Don't you worry about that Heimdall, it's taken care of."

"No, I am worrying about it. Where did you get the money for this?" he demanded to know, raising his voice slightly.

"Do we have to go to that tone already? You start out so nice!" Skadi said sarcastically, making sure to not raise her own voice. Suddenly she gasped at something she saw ahead and quickly shoved herself and Heimdall into the nearby shadows of an alleyway.

"What--"

"Shh!" She clasped a hand over his mouth and pointed with her other hand out to the sidewalk, releasing him as he saw what she did.

They stood in silence there, both watching as intently as predators upon their prey. Because who should be out on this lovely fall evening other than the infamous "Detective Loki" of the Enjaku Detective Agency? Of course he was accompanied by his three little groupies, Fenrir and that Midgardsormr and… some kind of botched attempt at a summons. Some stupid little shikigami. Humph. Skadi highly doubted that thing's usefulness, but then, what she'd been told did indicate that it could come in useful. Maybe she should get one herself. But a cuter one.

"Look at him," she whispered, partially to Heimdall but mostly to herself. "He's just begging for it. That bastard…"

Her curse surprised Heimdall, as he hadn't known her to speak in what she regarded as 'vulgar terms' before now.

"Why does he get to be so happy? After what he did to me…" Skadi seemed, to Heimdall, to be voicing his thoughts as they stood there, watching Loki resentfully. Eventually the auburn-haired god passed, and the two relaxed wherein they didn't know they were tense. Suddenly, too, Heimdall became all too aware of the proximity, or lack thereof, between himself and Skadi after she'd dragged him over to the alleyway. They both stepped back at the same time, giving each other a fair amount of space and frowning stubbornly as if offended by the other's presence.

"Let's go," Heimdall huffed, leaving in a hurry. Skadi followed, for once quiet in her own thoughts. Heimdall was thankful for that.


	6. Drinking at Midnight

Just when you thought it was safe to return to FanFiction dot net...

* * *

Nakitakunaruno, Dakishimetainoni

Chapter 6

* * *

Heimdall stirred, in a haze, and gazed vacuously toward the ceiling. It was still black as pitch in his room, a certain indication of midnight; what had woken him up?

No sooner had he asked than a searing pain suddenly made itself known, coursing through his head at record speed, ensuring that any subsequent attempt at sleep would be futile. He clutched his eye—or where it should have been, rather—in agony, once again unpleasantly reminded of why he was in Midgard. He cursed unhappily and muttered a few choice expletives against Loki before managing to sit up in bed and glance at his alarm clock: 1:23 a.m.

Wonderful.

As the ache receded somewhat, Heimdall stood and ambled his way into the kitchen, still vaguely drowsy despite the pain. He hated this so much. He hated Loki. So much.

The only light that shone in the kitchen was a dim microwave clock, but the moonlight flooding through the window provided plenty for him to see by. He groped around the pantry for the only thing he thought might cure his head's imminent combustion and withdrew, successful in his quest for the tall bottle of mead he kept stocked (unbeknownst to Freyr) behind the first aid kit. He poured himself a glass of the golden liquid and quickly put it in the microwave, craving a cure as soon as possible; he was afraid his pain would return shortly, this time with a vengeance.

The room was promptly permeated by the spirited aroma of mulled mead as Heimdall took a careful sip of his concoction, its piquant flavor warming him satisfyingly.

"Heimdall," a whispering voice cut through the silence, startling him. He almost spilled his drink, but luckily didn't start badly enough to do so—however, his heart was pounding, and so was his head once again. His eye met two rather frightening orbs of black staring back at him, Skadi's eyes having lost their color amidst the blue moonlight as she peeked above the back of the couch.

"Damn it, Skadi," he cursed angrily, again cradling his head in retaliation to its painful assailant.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Skadi insisted, realizing that he wasn't feeling well and adjusting her tone to a more apologetic one in light of this. She stumbled off the couch, taking a small spill in the process with the blankets tangled around her feet, and moved across the room to better assess Heimdall's condition. He attempted to ignore her.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" she asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and concern.

"…No. I'm fine."

"You certainly don't look fine."

"Leave me alone."

Skadi pouted, contemplation written clearly across her face during the slight pause. She wasn't sure what to say.

"You shouldn't drink alone, Heimdall. Here—pour me some, too."

"Pour it yourself."

"Fine," Skadi muttered, glossing over the spot where she would usually protest and badger Heimdall until he gave her a glass like a proper gentleman.

In no time they were sitting formally across from one another at the dining room table, silence enveloping them. Heimdall found it comfortable, but Skadi could hardly stand it. She had to say _something_!

"Heimdall," she murmured, still keeping her voice low so as not to wake Freyr. Heimdall didn't look like he was in much pain anymore, so she decided to venture forth with conversation. "What are your plans?"

"What do you mean?" he asked ambiguously, knowing full well what she meant.

"You know full well what I mean." Damn, she knew. "What are your plans for taking care of our problem?"

"Since when did Loki become '_our_ problem'?"

"Since Odin dispatched me to succeed where you've failed."

Heimdall glared at her. The more he drank, the more his headache receded, but he still couldn't get rid of _this_ pain in the neck.

"You aren't going to help me. I can kill Loki myself, without you."

"History would suggest otherwise. Stop being stubborn and let me help you. Otherwise, I'll kill him all by myself and you won't ever get to exact your vengeance."

The violet-haired god scowled and swirled his drink aimlessly, watching the golden ripples refract the blue light of the moon. What she said wasn't set in stone, but it could, conceivably, happen. He didn't want to let it… but he also didn't want her help. Not now.

"…Hmph," he huffed in irritation, turning his gaze to the glittering city outside rather than the persistent goddess across from him.

"Heimdall," Skadi spoke again, not allowing him to escape the conversation through his noncommittal sigh. "Please."

A surprised Heimdall turned back to her; but it was her turn to avoid eye contact, as she watched her mead instead. Never before had he heard her voice so genuinely pleading.

"You aren't the only one who's lost something to him. I don't need to kill him myself; rest assured that you may deliver the final blow. I just need to have a hand in it. For my father," Skadi murmured, the slightest tinge of sadness lacing her words.

Heimdall sighed, suddenly weary in the face of her emotion. He didn't want to be in this conversation anymore. His mead was gone, as was his headache and his patience.

"Whatever. I don't care what you do." He stood and, leaving his glass unattended on the table, went to his room.

"…Is that a yes?" Skadi called after him, disconcerted by his sudden forfeiture. All she heard in response was the closing of his door.


	7. A Different Kind of Channeling

Nakitakunaruno, Dakishimetainoni

Chapter 7

**

* * *

**

"Just the man I wanted to see. Hold this for me." Skadi halted her busy hands and held the rich, red entanglement out to a passing Heimdall. The morning glow flooded through the living room, golden and crisp in the late autumn, illuminating both of them with a youthful incandescence. Despite the soft lighting, Heimdall's eye stubbornly kept its trademark sharpness as it stared, disinterested, at the yarn.

"I'm busy."

"Busy? With what?" Skadi asked incredulously, as if nothing on earth could be more important than holding her skein.

"Getting ready to leave." He attempted to gracefully duck out of the conversation, but Skadi was having none of it.

"Leave? Where? Going to stalk our nemesis? Plan our nefarious plans?" she asked with a smirk, eliciting precisely the intended response, as Heimdall frowned slightly and fixed her with an irritated gaze.

"No. And don't put it like that. It sounds… villainous."

"Sorry. I forgot that we're warriors of justice."

Heimdall mentally threw his hands up in exasperation. If it wasn't one extreme, it was another with this girl; there was no winning against her nonsensical mischief.

"So where are you really going, then?" she asked, beginning again to occupy her hands with the golden knitting needles.

"Piano class."

"Oh." She paused and continued her work. Heimdall almost made it out of the room, until she moved her train of thought back onto the track.

"Wait. What? Why?" she asked, puzzled. "Why are you going to classes? You're a god. Don't you have anything better to do with your time?"

"I'm leaving in ten minutes," he informed her, ignoring her irritating question.

"Well, well—" Skadi's voice grew anxious as she revealed the true reason that she was pestering him, "What am I supposed to do while you're gone? Freyr's out too, still looking for that sister of his, I mean, I don't have anyone here with me to talk to."

"That isn't my problem, is it? Just watch TV or something."

"…TV?"

Heimdall looked at her incredulously. The way she'd said those two letters, rolling them clumsily off her tongue with a foreign bulkiness… did she really…?

"You don't even know what a television is, do you?"

"…Of course I do."

"Liar."

Skadi stubbornly scowled at him. "Well, fine, if you're so smart, why don't you tell me what it is?"

"Haven't you been wondering what that huge black screen in the middle of the wall is?"

"…Ohhhh!" she gasped, elongating her expression for dramatic effect. "I wondered what those were! Fascinating!" She quickly crept across the room to the television, poking around the fragile device tentatively. "How does it work? It makes pictures come alive, right?"

"Sort of. Don't think you can interact with them."

"Oh…" Skadi looked relatively disappointed at this news.

"You just watch the screen. It's like having a little theater in a box."

"…Oh." Skadi stared with consternation at the many multi-colored buttons on the bewildering apparatus Heimdall was handing to her without rhyme, reason, or explanation. Luckily, they were labeled, so maybe Skadi could decode the hieroglyphics on her own. "But Heimdall…" She frowned at him. "I like the theater plays that are interactive."

Heimdall sighed in irritation, turning away, as his explanation was done and it was high time he left for class. "I know."

"Do you?"

The conversation had taken a sharp and unexpected turn, and Heimdall found himself under the steady, confident gaze of an impish Skadi. He turned away quickly before she could see the light flush of his face. He must still be tired, feeling faint after moving so much.

"You know what I mean!" he insisted irritably, walking out of the room.

"Do I?" she persisted, beginning to chase after him.

* * *

"Well, there you have it," Skadi spoke to the thin air beside her, Heimdall having left for his oh-so-precious class. "Televismus or what have you. Humans are so peculiar. Why would they need to invent a device for this? Don't they have books, and theatre plays?" Her dark eyes glanced around, quickly locating Kogata, who was snoozing with the utmost comfort in the bright light of the window sill.

"Ah… You don't care, do you?" she asked flatly, turning back to the puzzling black screen.

"Well… Let's see what kind of depraved nonsense they put on display in this immoral realm."

* * *

"Hey." Heimdall set his bag down in order to fully appreciate the apparent coma Skadi was in, slouching lazily on the couch with an open box of candy beside her. She hadn't acknowledged his presence in the slightest when he came in; or given any other signs of life, for that matter.

"Huuhh," she mumbled, zombie-like eyes slowly revolving in their sockets to focus upon him. Tensing subconsciously, he suddenly felt as if he had been thrown into the survival horror genre. He began taking inventory of the surrounding objects to see what could be used as a weapon—in case of possible attack.

"Heimdall, thank god you're back!" she suddenly exclaimed, flopping off the couch and onto the floor in order to crawl towards him. He instinctively flinched away, but relaxed when he became fully cognizant that it was just the idiot Skadi on the floor, not a bloodthirsty zombie (as anyone might have been able to argue not two minutes ago).

She crept across the dark carpet, slowly drawing nearer to him in her apparent state of delusion. There was something about this Skadi, though, that was different from her normal self. It lacked something…

"Did you bring food? Tell me you brought food! For fu—"

"What? What the hell's wrong with you? And get off of me!" Heimdall shoved her away as she'd begun to climb him, where she crumpled into a pitiful heap on the floor, devoid of any kind of energy to fight back. Composure. That's what she was lacking. "And since when did you start talking like that?"

"Heimdall, you don't know what I've been through. You could never understand. That thing—it—it _enslaved_ me. I was helpless against its dancing lights and catchy showtunes!"

Heimdall eyed her suspiciously. At least she was acting a bit more like herself, now that she had cut out that "foul language", as she would have called it were she in her right mind. This outlandish episode of histrionics must have been influenced by the television. She was so easily swayed by plays, he seemed to recall only now; he should have known that allowing her to watch TV was a bad idea.

"You're ridiculous. Isn't there any food ready by now?" he asked, annoyed that he had to put up with this nuisance on an empty stomach.

"Oh, what, so just because I'm a woman, you think I should have a piping hot dinner ready for you, just because you're a man?"

"No- I don't think anything like that! You're acting like an idiot! Dammit—This is the last time I leave you alone with the TV!"

As he moved forward, Skadi only just began to see what he was doing, and shot upright.

"What? No! Heimdall, you can't—"

But it was too late. The device that opened the portal to worlds was held in the iron grip of an angry watchman, and there was nothing for the pathetic little goddess to do except mope as he quickly clicked the flashing screen off. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she looked up at him pitifully, addressing him with the utmost humility.

"Oh, Heimdall, forgive me. I'm just—I've just been a little famished, that's all, and you know, kind of tired too, now that the hypnotic effects of those colorful sugar discs have worn off." She made a sad attempt at a personable chuckle, which managed to come off as a rather creepy addition to her apparent addiction to the TV. "I'm sorry—Please give back the control? Please? I'm weak—I'm just a woman, remember—"

"No way. You're acting too bizarre. I'm not letting you anywhere near this until I know you won't let it affect you so much."

"Heimdall! How could you? A proper gentleman would acquiesce to a lady's whims, however foolish—"

"That's close, but no dice. I'll be keeping this." Heimdall turned to go to his room, where he'd properly hide the remote so he wouldn't have to suffer through this twice.

"Aah… Heimdall is so mean…" Skadi sank facedown onto the floor again, beginning to suffer television withdrawals already. "I just wanted to watch one more movie…"

Contemplating the dark whorls in the carpet, she heard the dull thud of Heimdall's footsteps stop, then start again, then become irregular and stop.

"_Just one_ more movie?"

Skadi turned her head up and looked at him curiously with her large, round eyes. He'd turned around, arms crossed and frowning down at Skadi disagreeably; she could see the remote against his chest, dangling just out of reach.

"Yes," she murmured, watching him intently and trying to confirm what she suspected was true.

"…One."

"Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping up and clasping his free hand passionately as her eyes glimmered and shone, standing on her tiptoes as if she were balancing on his every word. He sighed and turned his head away.

"Fine, whatever."

"OH, THANK Y—"

"_But._"

Skadi blinked, then frowned slightly, unaware that this kindness had strings attached; but, of course it did. This _was_ Heimdall she was negotiating with.

"But what?"

"I don't intend to hand this remote over to you. What are you going to do about that?"

"A puzzling dilemma indeed… But, Heimdall," she suggested cheerily, "you could always watch with me!"

"Oh, yeah… I forgot about that…" Heimdall muttered, looking away as if he greatly regretted acceding to her begging.

"I'll make the popcorn!"


End file.
